Lately I have been thinking about Jesus' first 30 years of life, wondering what He did, how He interacted with the Father, how He managed to stay completely hidden, other than a couple of times we have recorded in scripture where we get a small glimpse of His extraordinary birth, or unique talents as a boy of 12 (both found in Luke 2). I was thinking about this the other day and felt the Holy Spirit say that Jesus was praying during this time. I understand this to mean that He was in constant communication with the Father, and was being directed and guided in His daily life and work.
We know that He grew up in Nazareth (Luke 2:39, 51), that He was known as a carpenter (Mark 6:3), the son of a carpenter(Matt 13:55), and can surmise that His life was very normal by the response to His ministry from people in His hometown later (see the verses from Mark and Matt listed earlier). So, in my imagination I see Jesus working and living in this town for close to 30 years, and most people in this town have no idea He is the Messiah, or that He is special at all! Wow! That is an amazing job of staying hidden!
Previously in some of my reflections, I have pondered this hiddenness and thought about Jesus' heart as He sees the struggles, sickness, death, hunger, desire for the Messiah in those around Him. I have reflected on the responses of His former neighbors when they hear about His ministry and the things He is doing in other towns, how they became offended, and how that was likely tied to the own memories of Him doing nothing while in their midst previously! I imagine that all of this was cause for prayer for Jesus. He knew who He was, knew why He had been sent to earth, and yet He was required to stand by and seemingly do nothing.
This brings me back to my thought that He spent these years praying, because He wasn't doing nothing, He was praying! He was speaking to the Father about everything He saw, every injustice He witnessed, every opportunity where the revelation of God's Kingdom would make a difference, every sick person, every difficulty and struggle, every poor person, every hungry person, every cry to God for help! He was reminding the Father of His Word, His Promises, His Love for His people! We are told that He presently resides in Heaven, constantly interceding for us all (Rom 8:34 & Heb 7:25), and I am sure this intercession is just a continuation of His prayers that constantly flowed during His life here on earth!
If we look at His life, He spent on 11% of His earthly life in active ministry, the remaining 89% hidden, and praying. Is it possible to say that the effects of His ministry were tied directly to all of His prayers? I believe we can say that, as long as we don't get all religious, and think that somehow the Father was keeping score, or Jesus was, and knew how many prayers He had to pray, etc. He was living as directed, and His heart was fully aligned with the Father, and thus His Ministry and sinless life were a direct result of His prayer - His constant communication with the Father. It wasn't the quantity of prayers - it was the nature of His relationship established through prayer, that was the foundation for His ministry.
As I was writing this< I was reminded of the verses in Revelation 5:8 NIV: "And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God's people." If there are bowls in heaven full of the prayers of God's people, imagine what type of container Jesus must have filled up with His Prayers!! I was thinking that its almost like His prayers filled up a giant Golden Bowl, that was then poured out when He started ministering! Now, none of that has a scriptural basis, but I like the imagery.
Is it possible that our prayers are filling up bowls in heaven, and the angels when sent on assignment, are delivering answers to these very prayers? We are told to pray (Col 4:2 and many other scriptures)! We are encouraged to lift our needs daily to the Lord (The Lord's Prayer - Luke 11:2-4) ! We are told of how the angels are sent in response to our prayers (Daniel 10:12). Again, I am placing a bunch of scripture together and tying them together logically, not in the hopes of creating a religious practice, but rather to open our eyes to the significance of prayer! Paul was constantly asking for prayer, Jesus was constantly praying, the apostles led the early church in constant prayer, and we would be do well to follow in their footsteps. To be clear, I am not talking about rote recitation of canned prayers, but rather a heart and spirit in constant communication with the Lord! A real dialogue and communication, both speaking and listening.
Oh Lord, help me to learn to be in prayer, like You were in prayer! Help me to be aware of the significance of our communication with You, our prayers. Help me to embrace a life of prayer, whether I am actively ministering, or living a quiet and "hidden" life, working and raising a family! Help me to see what You want me to see, and talk with You about the things You want to talk about, calling forth provision, healing, deliverance, salvation, prosperity, mercy, grace, compassion, and love for those I encounter! Help me to fill bowls and bowls that Your purposes might be poured forth upon the earth!
Amen!
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